Blackwater Ukulele and Dulcimer Festival
 Sunday, September 13, 2015 This year the festival has been moved to Sunday All festival events and workshops are included in the regular $10 admission fee to the gardens.
Countdown to the Festival
Open Mic Rules. Be kind to animals and small children, respect the elderly and you must have at least one ukulele or dulcimer in your act 
| Benefit for the Music Speaks Project Supporting Autism Awareness and Early Access to Care  Nathan (r) meets Jake Shimabukuro (l) Join Nathan Miller in his endeavor to raise awareness for Autism and the need for early access to care through the power of music...read more Make sure you get on the festival e-mail list Festival Poster and T-shirts The gardens will be selling art posters and T-Shirts featuring the artwork you see in the left corner painted by local fine artist Cheryl Butler. New this year! Mountain Dulcimer workshop and dulcimers at Open mic!!! The instruments just seem to complement each other,so bring your mountain dulcimer to the open mic!!! |
Performing Artists
(in order of appearance)
Dave hails from Murrells Inlet SC. A big favorite among the lovers of Tin Pan Alley. Close you eyes when Dave strums and sings and you could be back in 1925.
Hear Ukulele Dave sing If I Had You
Nathan is a wonderfully talented, multifaceted musician. He is an embodiment of what the latest wave of ukulele popularity is all about. From strumming, picking, tapping to harmonics, Nathan makes his ukulele speak in ways you dreamed you could. This is one performance you don' want to miss.
The Charleston Hot Shots perform in a skiffle jazz style while playing blues, ragtime, standards and folk music, played on a mixture standard and improvised instruments. Hear, ukuleles, bass buckets, kazoos and harmonicas played with a unique jazz swing. Performing since 2007 the band leader, Jim is the organizer of the Blackwater Festival; Jim says; "For me it is like a big party in a blender, I hook up with old friends, make new friends, while the day flies by in a blur. I treasure each festival and the wonderful people I've been blessed to meet."
www.reverbnation.com/sarahsummer
Big Jim Allen, a Chicago native now living in St. Pete, grew up playing acoustic folk rock, jazz and classic rock music…from the British Invasion and “hippie rock” to the California singer/songwriter music. Considered an interesting time in music, there really were no musical pigeonholes. If you played guitar, you simply played it all.
Enjoying having a good time with his audiences, Big Jim is best known as a fingerstyle guitarist, versatile ukulele player and singer/songwriter. Reviews refer to him as an “all-around entertainer and personality.” A Big Jim Allen show combines a quick sense of humor, and a collection of nostalgic and original music that goes beyond the standard fare.
Constantly “reinventing” his style, Big Jim is now primarily an event entertainer. His involvement as a board member of both the Tampa Bay Ukulele Society and the Tampa Bay Fingerstyle Guitar Guile, as well as a charter member of the Tampa Bay Musicians Co-Op, has placed him in front of audiences at folk & ukulele festivals, chamber & civic events, street fairs & markets, and private corporate functions. Also, he is in demand for ukulele/guitar/beach/garden weddings via his internet marketing for UkuleleWedding.com.
Ron and Ginny Rowland
Jim Ravoira
Intermediate Ukulele
Donald "Noodle" Whitley
We end the concert with Charleston’s premier ukester, with his special guest BIG Jim from Tampa. Going to be a lot of fun!!!!
Definitely will be an unforgettable treat to hear them perform.
Workshops
Dulcimer
Ron and Ginny will be giving instruction for those who have never held a dulcimer before starting as basic as how to hold the instrument. We will cover how to tune, which tunings are most common, how to strum, how to read dulcimer tab, a basic scale and 3 simple chords. Hopefully we will get you playing a simple song. No stress! No prior knowledge required!
Ron Relates "We recently played on the Sullivan's Island bandstand near the playground and fire station. We had Dulcimers, Banjo sounds from a Dulcimer, steel drum, kazoo, and a gut bucket, was not long before we had an audience. We asked for help from the children in the audience, every child received a new Kazoo to "help us". We all had a great time and fond memories. As the children left, I simply asked them to keep practicing their Kazoos in the back seat of their parents car on the way home. I think we had more fun than they did. Enough for now, time to order more kazoos. "
Beginning Ukulele
Co-Founder of the Charleston Hot Shots has been playing uke since 2004. Jim say's this workshop is for the absolute beginner who got a uke for xmas, brithday, grandpa left me one, one fell from the sky.... how do I start?? I want to play. Print a lesson booklet out here.
Founder of the The V-Tones of Charleston and The Amazing mittens. Noodle is multitalented musician and is highly regarded as a Ukulele players. He has played with some of the uke legends. Noodle can help guide you to the next level.